1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a resist pattern-forming method and a resist pattern-miniaturizing resin composition.
2. Discussion of the Background
Along with an increase in the degree of integration of semiconductor devices, a reduction in dimensions (line width) of interconnects has been increasingly desired for a semiconductor device production process. A fine pattern has been formed by forming a resist pattern on the surface of a substrate (e.g., silicon wafer) provided with a thin film by utilizing photolithographic technology, and etching the thin film using the resist pattern as a mask.
Therefore, photolithographic technology is very important when forming a fine resist pattern. Photolithographic technology involves resist application, mask alignment, exposure, and development. It is effective to reduce the exposure wavelength in order to form a fine resist pattern. However, it is very expensive to update the exposure system, and a resist material that deals with a shorter wavelength may not be available. Moreover, a reduction in exposure wavelength is limited.
A resist pattern-miniaturizing resin composition that contains an acidic water-soluble resin, and a method that reduces the line width of a positive-tone chemically amplified resist pattern using the resist pattern-miniaturizing resin composition have been disclosed (e.g., Japanese Patent Application Publication (KOKAI) No. 2001-281886).